EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Two solid pitching performances and a consistent offensive attack propelled Missouri S&T's softball team to a pair of victories Friday on the first day of the Blue Bridge Battle, as the Miners avenged losses to teams they faced on the opening weekend of action by knocking off Ashland 6-1 and Cedarville 6-2.
With Friday's wins, the Miners evened their record at 4-4 on the season.
Game 1 – Miners 6, Ashland 1
After spotting Ashland a run in the opening inning, S&T starting pitcher Julie Kanoy dominated the Eagles for the remainder of the contest and the Miner offense gave her the win with five runs in the middle innings.
The Eagles (1-4) scored in the first on a walk with the bases loaded, but S&T evened things up in the bottom half of the frame on a walk to
Elizabeth Viox (Glen Carbon, Ill./Edwardsville), an infield single by
Baylee Jobson (Marceline, Mo./Marceline RV) and a fielder's choice on a ball off the bat of
Rachel Smith (Monroe City, Mo./Monroe City R-1) that allowed Viox to cross the plate.
S&T left five runners on base in the first three innings, but broke the tie in the fourth which started on a double down the left field line by
Bryn Wooldridge (Salisbury, Mo./Salisbury).
Gretchen Roth (Parkville, Mo./Park Hill South) followed with a hit and a subsequent error on the play allowed Wooldridge to score the go-ahead run. The Miners added two more runs later in the inning as
Hannah Antzoulatos (Plainfield, Ill./Joliet Catholic Academy) got a two-out single to score Roth and Viox.
The Miners tacked on two more in the fifth, one scoring on an RBI single by Wooldridge and the other when Roth reached on an error that allowed
Taylor Caton (Ballwin, Mo./Parkway West) to come around to score.
Kanoy, meanwhile, struck out a career-high 12 in her complete game effort and pitched out of a couple of jams, including getting a called third strike on Kayla Ruperto in the third inning when the Eagles had runners on second and third with two outs. She allowed just four hits in the contest and walked just two hitters after the opening inning.
The Miners outhit Ashland 14-4, with Antzoulatos getting three of the hits. Viox, Smith, Wooldridge and
Shannon Flowers (Katy, Texas/Katy) all had two hits apiece.
Game 2 – Miners 6, Cedarville 2
Missouri S&T scored in five of the seven innings of the nightcap to back Wooldridge's strong outing in the circle to allow the Miners to complete a sweep of the day's action.
S&T got on the scoreboard by scoring twice in the second, as Smith led off with a hit, stole second and came in to score on an opposite field double by Roth. Wooldridge then traded places with Roth on the basepaths with a double of her own to give the Miners a 2-0 lead.
The Miners then proceeded to put single runs on the board in each of the next four innings, beginning with a one-out homer by Antzoulatos in the third. S&T scored in the fourth on consecutive singles by Wooldridge,
Emma Vaughn (Pevely, Mo./Herculaneum) and
Peyton Dillon (Yorkville, Ill./Rosary) to go up 4-0, then Vaughn drove in
Shiane Taylor (St. Jacob, Ill./Triad) with a two-out single in the fifth. S&T's last run came home courtesy of a squeeze bunt by Smith that scored Viox in the sixth.
Wooldridge allowed just one hit through the first five innings before the Yellow Jackets (1-4) broke the shutout in the bottom of the sixth, but she was able to give S&T its second complete game effort of the day as she scattered six hits and struck out nine.
The Miners had 14 hits in the second game as well, led by Smith, Wooldridge and Vaughn with three apiece.
Missouri S&T will take on Davis & Elkins on Saturday at 2 p.m., followed by a 4 p.m. contest against tournament host Kentucky Wesleyan at the Deaconess Sports Park.
